ere is anything else to be done on the farm, you come and tell me
about it to-morrow. I'm going to take the responsibility on myself to
see that matters go on properly until your mistress returns."

Letty and her son, Plez, occupied a cabin not far from the house, while
Uncle Isham lived alone in a much smaller tenement, near the barn and
chicken house. That evening he went over to Letty's, taking with him, as
a burnt offering, a partially consumed and still glowing log of hickory
wood from his own hearth-stone. "Jes' lemme tell you dis h'yar, Letty,"
said he, after making up the fire and seating himself on a stool near
by, "ef you want to see ole miss come back rarin' an' chargin', jes' you
let her know dat Miss Null is gwine ter plough de clober fiel' for
pickles."

"Wot's dat fool talk?" asked Letty.

"Miss Null's gwine to boss dis farm, dat's all," said Isham. "She tole
me so herse'f, an' ef she's lef' alone she's gwine ter do it city
fashion. But one thing's sartin shuh, Letty, if ole miss do fin' out
wot's gwine on, she'll be back h'yar in no time! She know well 'nuf dat
dat Miss Null ain't got no right to come an' boss dis h'yar farm. Who's
she, anyway?"

"Dunno," answered Letty. "I done ax her six or seben time, but 'pears
like I dunno wot she mean when she tell me. P'raps she's one o' ole
miss' little gal babies growed up. I tell you, Uncle Isham, she know dis
place jes as ef she bawn h'yar."

Uncle Isham looked steadily into the fire and rubbed the sides of his
head with his big black fingers. "Ole miss nebber had no gal baby 'cept
one, an' dat died when 'twas mighty little."

"Does you reckon she kill her ef she come back an' fin' her no kin?"
asked Letty.

Uncle Isham pushed his stool back and started to his feet with a noise
which woke Plez, who had been soundly sleeping on the other side of the
fireplace; and striding to the door, the old man went out into the open
air. Returning in less than a minute, he put his head into the doorway
and addressed the astonished woman who had turned around to look after
him. "Look h'yar, you Letty, I don' want to hear no sech fool talk 'bout
ole miss. You dunno ole miss, nohow. You only come h'yar seben year ago
when dat Plez was trottin' roun' wid nuffin but a little meal bag for
clothes. Mahs' John had been dead a long time den; you nebber knowed
Mahs' John. You nebber was woke up at two o'clock in the mawnin wid de
crack ob a pistol, an' run out 'spectin' 'twas